US3501789A - Safety lifebelt - Google Patents

Description

March 24, 1970 TL. ROSSETTI SAFETY LIFEBELT Fi1ed,-Feb. 28, 1968 ATTORNEY United States Patent Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Safety lifebelt composed of an air tube, provided with braces so that it can be put on in the manner of a jacket, surrounding the chest and with its ends intended to be hooked together so as to form a toroidal chamber the continuity of which is interrupted at the point of hooking.

The object of the present invention is a safety lifebelt especially designed to assist lifesavers at bathing beaches in rendering aid, in an emergency, to persons in danger of drowning. The safety lifebelt in question can also be employed with advantage by underwater swimmers, and those who are afllicted with malaise or tiredness while swimming can use it to remain afloat until they are rescued.

The lifebelt, according to the invention, is essentially composed of an air tube, provided with braces so that it can be put on in the manner of a jacket, surrounding the chest and with its ends intended to be hooked together so as to form a toroidal chamber; inside the said tube are lodged the bottle or bottles of compressed air for the introduction of air into the said chamber when an external valve is operated.

The said safety jacket can be worn in its deflated state without hindrance to the swimmer and can be instantly inflated in case of need, even when the user is at the bottom of the sea, by simply operating the air exhaust valve on the bottle.

Other details and advantages of the invention will appear in the course of the following description which, together with the attached drawing, shown solely by way of non-limiting example as a means of carrying out a preferred form of realisation, will make clear how the present invention can be put into effect, it being understood that the details in both the description and the drawing form part of the said invention.

FIG. 1 shows, in a partly sectioned external view, the lifebelt deflated and open;

FIG. 2 shows, on a larger scale, the valve for the passage of the compressed air from the bottles to the air tube.

The safety lifebelt, according to the invention, is composed of an air tube 1, provided with a reinforcing band 2 on which, by means of a horizontal seam 3, are fashioned two horizontal tubular bulges. The ends of the air tube 1 have elastic means 4 for attaching the belt to the thorax, by means of the hooks 5 and their respective eyeholes 6. To the side of the reinforcing band 2 are attached two crossed braces 7 which allow the deflated safety belt to be put on like a jacket.

Two bottles 8, which intercommunicate by means of a coupling joint 9, are housed inside the air tube 1, one of the said bottles being fitted with a valve 10 for the input of air at low pressure. The bottles 8 are kept in position by means of clips 11. The valve 10, which is housed in the tube 1, is situated coaxially to an orifice in the said air tube, the said orifice being normally sealed by an airtight plug 12 and being used both for the charging of the bottles 8 and for the discharge of the air.

3,501,789 Patented Mar. 24, 1970 One of the two bottles 8 is connected to a valve A for the passage of the air into the air tube 1. The said valve A is substantially composed of a cylindrical tubular body 13 closed at one end by a bottom plate 14, the said plate being connected to one of the bottles and communicating with the same by means of an orifice 15, and fitted with a circular step 16 which serves as a seating for the valve type sealing washer 17, the said washer being designed to fit into a corresponding cavity in a cup 18 joined to a stem 19 which extends beyond the cylinder 13 after having passed through the other bottom plate 20, on which is attached a support 21 bearing a turnably pivoted balance lever 22, one end of which is engaged on the free end of the stem 19, the other end 24 being designed tobe pressed with the palm of the hand when air tube 1 is in a deflected condition for the purpose of opening the valve when it is desired to cause the air to pass from the bottles 8 to the air tube 1. In the deflated condition of air tube 1, the end 24 can be felt through the sides of air tube 1 and operated by pressure of the palm of the hand placed on it due to the flexibility of the material of air tube 1.

A spring 25, which surrounds the stem 19 and is placed between the cup 18 and the bottom plate 20, returns the washer 17 and keeps it against its seating (or circular step) 16, seating 16 being provided with ring-shaped grooves 26 for the purpose of improving the sealing between the seating and the washer.

The air compressed by the valve A is conveyed to the air tube 1 through four unions 27 formed on the cylindrical body 13, there being four flexible pipes 28 attached to the said unions for the purpose of uniformly and immediately distributing the air throughout the whole of the inside of the lifebelt, thus enabling the same to be inflated at the bottom of the sea against the pressure exerted by the water itself. The four pipes 28 can with advantage be placed in pairs within the tubular bulges separated by the seaming 3 and have, at intervals, orifices 29 which communicate with the inside of the air tube and which serve to ensure better distribution of the air, and also to keep the said pipes away from the walls of the tube while air is flowing out of orifices 29 into air tube 1, in this way acting as distance pieces and enabling the tube to be inflated at the bottom of the sea in spite of the pressure exerted by the water surrounding the lifebelt due to the greater pressure of the fluid from the bottles 8.

It will be obvious that the details of the construction as well as the shape and arrangement of the parts can be varied within wide limits without in this way going outside the ambit of the invention.

I claim:

1. A lifebelt comprising an air tube adapted to be put around the breast of a wearer, at least two compressed gas bottles in said air tube, and a discharge valve secured to one of said bottles and operable manually to allow the gas to escape from said bottles to the inside of said air tube to inflate said air tube, said compressed gas bottles being interconnected by a small connection tube to allow the gas to pass from one of said bottles to the other and one of said bottles having a filling valve located in the interior of said air tube without projecting to the outside and said air tube having an orifice located opposite said filling valve and normally sealed by a plug removable to deflate said air tube and permit access to said filling valve.

2. A lifebelt as claimed in claim 1, wherein said discharge valve includes a cylindrical tubular body closed at one end by a bottom plate connected to one of said gas bottles and communicating therewith through a central orifice in said bottom plate, a central inner projection provided on said bottom plate and serving as a valve seat,

said central orifice extending through said central inner projection, a cup-shaped valve member adapted to sealingly engage said central inner projection on said bottom plate, a valve stem extending substantially centrally through said cylindrical tubular body and through the end thereof opposite said bottom plate and connected through said cup-shaped valve member, a spring surrounding said valve stem so as to normally keep said valve member in engagement with said valve seat, and a lever pivotally mounted on a supporting lug at the end of said cylindrical tubular body opposite said bottom plate, one end of said lever being pivotally secured to the projecting end of said valve stem and the other end of said lever being in the form of a handle adapted to be depressed by a finger to allow the gas to escape from said bottles to the interior of said air tube.

3. A lifebelt as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cylindrical tubular body is provided with tubular studs adapted to be attached to flexible tubes extending longitudinally through the air tube and provided with a plurality of small holes to ensure a uniform distribution of the compressed air over the entire length of the air tube.

4. A lifebelt as claimed in claim 2, wherein an elastic washer member is inserted in the cup of the cup-shaped valve member and the end face of the valve seat adapted to be engaged thereby is provided with annular grooves to increase the sealing effect.

5. A lifebelt as claimed in claim 3, wherein the flexible tubes are located in bulges formed in the air tube between seams sewn therein.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,921,659 8/1933 Catarau 9337 2,118,165 5/1938 Christopher et a1. 9336 X 2,784,426 3/1957 Boyle et a1. 9336 X MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner JAMES E. PITTENGER, Assistant Examiner

Images